NOTES
LAST WEEK: UC Davis (1-0, 1-0) opened with an 18-7 victory over first-team program San Diego State... Elizabeth Datino led the Aggies with four goals and four assists while Hannah Mirza added a hat trick... Despite the absence of center Meghan Jordan, UC Davis continued its prowess on draw controls - for which the team won an NCAA statistical title last year... The Aggies on 16 of the game's 27 draws, including seven into the stick of freshman Elizabeth Landry... Head coach Elaine Jones started five true freshmen in the opener: Landry, Charlotte Morris, Sarah Rupp, Sara Quero and Allie Lehner.

In addition to the freshman class, two returners emerged with key contributions on Sunday... Junior Stephanie Guercio shot 2-for-3 and had three draw controls... Sophomore Lauren Nardi netted back-to-back goals early in the second half to help UC Davis break away from a relatively close 8-5 margin... Sophomore GK Jordan Majka also enjoyed a strong game, recording 10 saves and intercepting two Aztec entry passes.

UP NEXT: The Aggies continue MPSF play with a midweek road game at Saint Mary's... The contest, the first home night game in Gael program history, takes place on the new artificial turf of SMC Recreation Field (located behind the Saint Mary's Stadium press box and grandstands)... Game time is 7 p.m.

SAINT MARY'S (0-1, 0-1) opened with an 18-6 loss to California on Sunday... Junior Amanda Cross and freshman Jaclyn Biggers each scored two goals for the Gaels... Anna Maria Carabini and Holly Hayes each recorded a pair of caused turnovers... SMC returns both of last year's All-MPSF selections in Mariah Walk (27 goals, 32 GBs, 25 CTs) and Jillian Chong (26 goals, 9 assists, 36 DCs).

SIBLING RIVALRY: This is the second and final year the UC Davis-Saint Mary's game features the matchup of sisters Laura and Rachel Sunday of Venetia, Pa.... Laura is a senior who appeared in 41 career Aggie games entering this season... She started against SDSU... Rachel begins her sophomore year, having started 14 of 15 games last year... The younger Sunday had a season-high 3 ground balls vs. UC Davis... Both players are defenders, so it's unlikely the two sisters will ever clash one-on-one... That said, Laura has shot 3-for-7 in her career.

HEAD COACH ELAINE JONES:
"I thought our transitions were fairly good and our intensity and focus remained at a high level throughout the game. Even when they scored, we kept it up. That was impressive. If people made mistakes, you could see that we didn't dwell on it. Even our freshmen, when I had to take them out, they didn't cry about it. They just played better when they went back in. That's the first time I've had freshmen react so positively. I thought the team's poise was very good overall."

"I wouldn't say first-game `jitters' is the right word. I think the team was excited. After a 10-hour bus ride, they were excited to get on the field and play. And that was good to see."

"Saint Mary's is always a tough game. It's a second conference opponent and we're on the road again. Again, we have to stay focused and follow the game plan. There are always improvements we need to make. We'll continue to improve our defense. We took 40 shots [against SDSU] so we'll improve our shooting percentage. But I always suspect a good game with Saint Mary's."